Anastasius I Dicorus

'', a 6th-century ivory diptych representing either Anastasius or Justinian I|upright Anastasius was born at Dyrrachium; the date is unknown, but is thought to have been no later than 431. He was born into an Illyro-Roman family. Anastasius had one black eye and one blue eye (heterochromia), and for that reason he was nicknamed Dicorus (, "two-pupiled"). Before becoming emperor, Anastasius was a silentiary. With a woman known as Magna, Paulus was father to Irene, who married Olybrius. This Olybrius was the son of Anicia Juliana and Areobindus Dagalaifus Areobindus. The daughter of Olybrius and Irene was named Proba. She married Probus and was mother to a younger Juliana. This younger Juliana married her possible relative another Anastasius, son of Anastasius and maternal grandson of Theodora, and was mother of Areobindus, Placidia, and a younger Proba, who married (Flavius) Anastasius, born in 530, and mothered Areobindus, born in 550, and Placidia, born in 552 and wife of John Mystacon. Another nephew of Anastasius was Probus, consul in 502. Anastasius' sister, Caesaria, married Secundinus, and gave birth to Hypatius and Pompeius. == Emperor ==

Accession (right) on the consular diptych of his grandnephew Sabinianus Anastasius (AD 517). The third figure may be the co-consul Agapitus. In the weeks following the death of Zeno (491), crowds gathered in the Hippodrome of Constantinople and demanded a Chalcedonian and properly Roman successor, chanting "Give the Empire an Orthodox emperor! Give the Empire a Roman Emperor!" Under such pressure, Ariadne, Zeno's widow, turned to Anastasius. Anastasius was in his sixties at the time of his ascension to the throne. Ariadne chose Anastasius over Zeno's brother Longinus, Ariadne married Anastasius on 20 May 491, shortly after his accession on 11 April. He gained popular favour by a judicious remission of taxation, in particular by abolishing the hated tax on receipts, which was mostly paid by the poor. He displayed great vigour and energy in administering the affairs of the empire. His reforms improved the empire's tax base and pulled it from financial depression and bleak morale. By the end of his reign, it is claimed that the treasury had 320,000 lb gold reserve. Not long after his accession, the circus factions caused riots and set fires around the Hippodrome. Though its exact cause is unclear, the riot was pacified when Anastasius replaced the city prefect Julian with his brother-in-law Secundinus. Foreign policy and wars '' of Anastasius I|upright=1.2 Under Anastasius, the empire engaged in the Isaurian War against Longinus and the Anastasian War against Sassanid Persia. The Isaurian War (492–497) was instigated by the Isaurian supporters of Longinus, the brother of Zeno, who was passed over for the throne in favour of Anastasius, and local discontents. The banished Isaurian officials, led by the ex-bishop Conon and former governor Lilingis, gathered in Isauria and mounted a revolt. Their defeat by John the Scythian and John the Hunchback in the Battle of Cotyaeum in 492 broke the back of the revolt, but guerrilla warfare continued in the Isaurian Mountains for several years. Theodoric forged a relationship with the Visigothic king Alaric II in Gaul. Anastasius became wary of Theodoric's imperial ambition in the West. In the Frankish rex Clovis, the emperor found an ally. Partly thanks to the former magister militum Gundobad, he teamed up with Clovis to overthrow the Gothic hegemony in the West. In the Franco–Gothic War (507–511), Clovis defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Vouillé. The threat of an invasion by the Roman army had prevented Theodoric from intervening in the battle on time to support the Visigoths in 507. In early 508, a Roman attack actually took place in the Italian boot. Anastasius had sent an expedition force of 8,000 soldiers for this attack, but the Roman intervention was not aimed at conquest, since it did not seek a confrontation with Theodoric's army and limited itself only to the looting of some cities in the south. The Franks were thus more successful in the war. Domestic and ecclesiastical policies ' customs. Anastasius was a convinced Monophysite, but his ecclesiastical policy was moderate. He endeavoured to maintain the principle of the Henotikon of Zeno and the peace of the church. Reform of the administration and coinage Anastasius showed an interest in administrative efficiency and issues concerning the economy. Anastasius is often cited for his "prudent management" of the empire's finances. Amidst these reforms, though, Anastasius continued the practice of selling official positions. Four solidi from his reign have been recovered as far from the Roman Empire as China. China might seem an unlikely trading partner, but the Romans and the Chinese were probably able to do business via Central Asian merchants travelling along the Silk Roads. Some Roman trading partners attempted to replicate the coins of Anastasius. The currency created by Anastasius stayed in use and circulated widely for long after his reign. == Death and succession ==

'' (one-third of a solidus) of Anastasius I|upright=1.2 The Anonymous Valesianus gives a (most likely fictional) account of Anastasius attempting to predict his successor. Anastasius did not know which of his three nephews would succeed him and so he put a message under one of three couches and had his nephews take seats in the room. He believed that the nephew who sat on the couch with the message would be his heir. However, two of his nephews sat on the same couch, and the one with the concealed message remained empty. After putting the matter to God in prayer, he determined that the first person to enter his room the next morning would be the next emperor, and that person turned out to be Justin, the commander of the Excubitors (comes excubitorum). Anastasius died childless in Constantinople on 9 July 518. He was 90 and a half years old according to the later chronicles of John Malalas ( 491–578) and the Chronicon Paschale ( 630). The early 6th-century historian Victor of Tunnuna states that he died at the age of 88, a figure accepted by most modern historians. He became the last emperor known to be consecrated as divus on his death. Anastasius left the Imperial treasury with 23,000,000 solidi, which is 320,000 pounds of gold or . Justin then became the next emperor. == Legacy ==

A 40-nummi coin of Anastasius is depicted on the obverse of North Macedonia's 50 denar banknote, issued in 1996. ==See also==